Inducing and manipulating sensations of incompleteness

Abstract

Incompleteness (INC) and Harm Avoidance (HA) are known core dimensions of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Emotional processing and inhibitory learning (IL) have both been proposed as viable mechanisms of exposure for the alleviation of HA, yet the relationship with INC remains unclear. This study evaluated differential manipulation responses to induced INC. The authors specifically tested whether targeting the key component of IL, expectancy violation generated by the discrepancy between an articulated prediction and the actual exposure experience, would lead to improved outcomes. A sample of undergraduates (N = 68) completed a series of behavioral tasks to induce INC, followed by manipulations (exposure with or without articulated predictions) to reduce INC reactions. Results show that modest changes were observed following reduction manipulations following INC induction. Furthermore, heightened HA predicted the changes of induced sensations. Mediation tests showed that articulation of predicted sensations mediated pre- to postreduction ratings. Clinical and research implications are discussed.